


Gifted Horse

by ninetyfive



Category: Take That (Band)
Genre: Awkward Boners, Cowboy AU, Established Relationship, First Time, Flirting, Horses, Kink Discovery, M/M, nervous!gary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-10 18:48:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19910491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninetyfive/pseuds/ninetyfive
Summary: Not even a hot date with sexy cowboy Mark Owen can make Gary conquer his fear of horses.





	Gifted Horse

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been sat on this story since April or May, but I never got round to posting it.
> 
> There are some mentions of awkward boners and a REALLY brief, innocent description of the boys having sexy times. Other than that, everything is fluffy, teen-rated and awkward.

‘Stroke it.’

‘I’m not going to stroke it.’

‘Why not?’

‘It’s too big, that thing is.’

A disapproving tut. ‘Don’t say _that –_ Julie is a _she_ , and she likes to be treated with respect. You can’t go around saying mean things about her. She’ll remember.’

Gary eyes Julie the horse suspiciously. She is currently stuck inside her stable, so thankfully Gary can only see her big head and not the rest of her, but he still feels afraid. Terrified, in fact.

It also doesn’t help that his crush, Mark, is in the middle of giving the horse a good rub. Gary’s never felt jealous of horses before, but he does now. He wishes Mark would rub _him_ up and down. Preferably somewhere around his nether regions. 

‘It’s the eyes,’ Gary explains. His body gives an involuntary shiver even though it’s a bright summer’s day. They’re stood outside of the stables in terrible heat, his T-shirt sticking uncomfortably to his back, his arms sunburnt, but he couldn’t feel colder.

Horses have always made Gary feel sheer terror and fear. He doesn’t know why. It’s not like he’s ever been this close to a horse before, and if he’d ever been attacked by one he’d probably remember.

‘I feel like she’s staring straight through me soul,’ Gary goes on explaining. ‘She’ll jump out of that box and attack me.’

‘She can’t hurt you,’ Mark says, and he waves a hand at the barn doors that separate Julie from the rest of the farm. The box has a top and a bottom door that operate differently, and the bottom one is closed. The top one is open, allowing Julie to see the complete range of the farm and the skies above.

Mark’s always thought Julie had the best view out of all their horses. ‘She’s stuck in here, see? She’s not suddenly going to attack you.’

Gary still takes a step back.

‘And anyway, I like that about horses, them being able to sort of see what kind of person you are,’ Mark goes on pleasantly. He looks out into the horizon with a faraway look in his eyes, his pasture stretching out as far as the eye can see, a couple of hills towering above them in the distance.

On the edge of the farm, he spots several more of his horses grazing freely on the grass: Taylor and Rose, two formidable competition horses. He thinks the two of them look beautiful, standing out against the blue sky like giants.

‘Horses are sort of like humans, you know. They all have their own personalities. I think maybe Julie doesn’t like you yet. But she will.’ Mark gives Julie a soft pat on the head and looks sideways at Gary. ‘She always ends up liking people _I_ like.’

Gary flushes at the mention of Mark liking him. This is technically their fourth date, and they’ve already done lots of snogging, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Mark Owen likes him.

And yet it does. Gary’s never thought of himself as that handsome (more sort of okay-looking, with terrible fashion sense), but Mark Owen is easily the most beautiful boy in the world. He’s always smiling and cheerful, and his body is the sexiest body Gary has ever seen on any boy. He isn’t muscular at all – more sort of lean and skinny and short, really short – but Gary thinks he looks amazing.

Mark’s face is also nice, though. Very nice. Probably the nicest part of Mark in general. His eyes are sexy and his long hair constantly flops over his forehead, which is why Mark always wears a cowboy hat.

Did Gary mention Mark’s a cowboy? He’s a cowboy. A cowboy who works with horses.

And Gary absolutely hates horses.

They shouldn’t even have met, him and Mark, for they live in completely different towns. Gary works as a musician at a saloon; Mark’s a cowboy on his huge family farm. The only reason they met is because Gary’s best mate Rob decided he wanted to go UFO hunting one night and they accidentally stumbled onto the Owen’s farm and walked into a massive cow.

Rob, who needs glasses, was convinced the cow was from outer space. This made the cow very upset because cows from outer space don’t look _remotely_ like him. The cow tried to tell Rob and Gary as much, but to the humans it just sounded like a bunch of moos.

That night, Mark woke up to the sound of a distressed animal. He ran all the way from his house to his cows in his pyjamas, and Gary had that weird moment when you see someone and your heart goes all weird and fuzzy. Seeing Mark in his pyjamas, shining a flashlight into their faces, hair all messy, did that to him. Mark was easily the prettiest boy he’d ever seen in the world.

He and Rob quickly explained what they were doing scaring a bunch of cows at one in the morning, and Mark seemed weirdly okay about the whole thing. He even invited the two lads into the house for a cup of tea. They stayed there until seven. Mark’s mum was ridiculously polite and kept handing out biscuits. Rob didn’t see any UFOs.

Two days later Gary and Rob met Mark again to apologise for scaring his cows, and Gary felt fuzzy all over again. It felt like butterflies were stretching out their wings in his stomach.

Clearly, Mark liked Gary back. He was kind and sweet and soft. Every time he saw Gary, his eyes would go as big as saucers. He’d make up for his nervousness by talking a million miles an hour, and whenever Mark wasn’t talking to Gary he’d be staring out into the expanse of his farm, fantasising about kissing his latest crush with a faraway look in his eyes.

Mark and Gary had their first date about a week later, and that same night they snogged in Mark’s bedroom. It was a very good snog, Gary thought, but then again he’d never really snogged someone before. Obviously Mark had been in a couple of relationships already. 

Today marks the boys’ fourth date, and they’ve already done quite a lot of snogging, even involving tongues. For some reason, Mark thought it would be fun to give Gary a tour around his massive farm, and they’ve just reached the stables. It’s a large building with a roof overhang and three box stalls for horses. The ground around it is covered in hay and leaves, and a strong smell that Gary can’t really place hangs in the air.

Despite Mark’s best efforts, Gary still doesn’t feel remotely comfortable being there.

Mark can see Gary looking at Julie, one of the biggest horses they have. He adjusts his cowboy hat, which is the light shade of pink. ‘You might like Julie better if you rode her, you know. I love riding horses, meself. It always makes me feel so calm, like I’m one with nature and I have nothing to worry about. It’s one of the best feelings in the world. Well, apart from kissing, anyway.’

Gary looks longingly at the Owen’s big farmhouse in the distance, where he and Mark had their first kiss. He’d rather go there and do more snogging. ‘Thanks, mate, but no thanks.’

Julie gives a disapproving little neigh, and Mark pets her on the head. ‘Why not? You won’t know how nice something is unless you’ve tried.’

‘Why would I want anything with a mind of its own bobbing about between me legs?’ Gary blurts out without thinking.

Mark’s eyes darken with something . . . different. Something _more_. The kind of _look_ Gary’s only ever seen in romantic films, right before the two main characters engage in a passionate kiss.

‘That’s a shame,’ Mark tuts. His voice takes on a suggestive tilt that has nothing to do with horses, and Gary’s again reminded how much better Mark is at flirting even though he’s a bit younger. Compared to him, Gary’s a baby. ‘I _love_ having someone between me legs, you know.’

Gary turns as red as a tomato. He looks at Mark looking at _him_ with glittering blue eyes, his skinny little body tanned and a little sweaty, his long hair covered by his cowboy hat, but perfect for digging all ten fingers through, and Gary suddenly finds that he’d quite like to have Mark between his legs, thank you very much.

‘I mean, I don’t want to have a _horse_ between me legs, I don’t,’ Gary stammers. ‘I wouldn’t rule out . . . other . . . things. Or people.’

Gary clears his throat. He’s obviously making things worse. He needs a distraction, fast.

Gary looks around him for inspiration. All he sees is grass, blue skies and a bunch of cows, their long tails flapping away flies. None of it is very distracting, and Gary doesn’t really feel like talking about cows.

Then he looks at Mark petting Julie the horse, and Gary is overcome with sudden bravery. Touching a horse suddenly seems a lot less scary after Mark has flirted with him so openly.

Can you _believe_ that Mark’s just said _that_ to him? Gary never knew people could be that brave.

Besides, it’s going to be pretty hard having a relationship with a cowboy if you’re terrified of the animals he works with daily. He needs to get over himself.

His heart hammering inside his throat, Gary reaches out for the horse’s head and touches it gently with the tips of his fingers. She’s surprisingly soft and gentle, and it doesn’t look like Julie is about to bite his hand off with her big weird teeth. He starts stroking the animal, and Mark responds with a pleased _hum_.

‘See? Told ya it wasn’t so bad.’ Mark kisses Gary proudly on the mouth, and Gary goes bright red when he feels Mark’s hand patting his bum. ‘I’m so proud of you, Gaz.’

Mark kissing him on the mouth has been the best moment of their fourth date so far, and Gary desperately wants to get more kisses like it. Especially if they involve Mark touching him _there_. Jesus. If Mark’s always going to kiss him when he’s proud of him, then Gary desperately wants to impress his boyfriend.

Gary accidentally blurts out that he wants to try riding a horse.

Mark starts grinning. A big, toothy grin; the kind that makes your insides turn into jelly by just looking at it. ‘Are you serious, Gaz?’

Gary isn’t, but he _does_ want Mark to be impressed with him. ‘Er _._ Yeah, mate. Yeah.’ He glances at Julie, who is still watching him suspiciously. He tries to look bigger and braver by placing his hands on his hips, arms akimbo, but Julie just snorts. ‘Better g-get used to it now, eh? Might as w-well, now that I’m here. So, er, w-where do we start?’

Five minutes later, Mark is helping Gary get on his horse. It’s a bit of a struggle and a half, for Julie is quite a tall horse and Gary isn’t the most flexible person in the world. He should really do more exercising.

After some gentle pushing and nudging by Mark – which involves a suspicious amount of Mark getting his hands on Gary’s bum –, Gary has finally found his way to Julie’s back.

He’s sat on a horse! It’s the weirdest feeling in the world. It’s like he’s grown several feet taller and he’s looking at the farm from the skies.

Then comes the hard bit. Gary obviously does not know how to ride a horse, so Mark has to show him the ropes. Quite literally. Mark athletically hops into the saddle as any cowboy would, and it’s only then that Gary realises that Mark riding the horse will involve him _sitting in front of him_.

And unfortunately for him, Mark likes to get close. Very close.

Gary has to cover up a gasp with a cough when he feels Mark’s body touching his own. Mark accidentally (intentionally) wriggles his arse against Gary’s groin as he tries to get more comfortable, and Gary experiences an awkward pulsing down _there_ that he’s going to find very hard to ignore.

But it gets worse. Mark has taken off his hat, leaving it in front of Julie’s box stall. It means the back of Mark’s head lines up with Gary’s nose, sending waft after waft of delicious shampoo smells and cologne right to his brain.

Needless to say, Mark smells nice. Very nice. Jesus. It’s like having your nose buried into a bloody soap shop.

Do all boys smell like that, Gary wonders, or is it just Mark who does? He’s never really noticed the way another boy smells before, and yet Mark’s cologne sends a prickle of pleasure to all the wrong parts of his body.

(Rob, Gary’s mate, says that people who smell better tend to be better in bed. Rob seems pretty knowledgeable about that sort of thing, so Gary is going to take his mate’s word for it.)

Mark grabs the horse’s reins and looks over his shoulder to see Gary staring back at him like a deer in headlights. ‘All right, Gaz? You look a bit flushed.’

Gary does _not_ feel all right, thank you very much. He can’t drown out the smell of Mark’s cologne, and he can’t quite get over the fact that Mark’s arse is touching his crotch. He’s never had someone’s bum touching him _there_ before, and it’s not an entirely unpleasant feeling. It’s rather nice, actually, and if Gary were a bit braver he might try kissing the back of Mark’s head. He’d curl his arms around Mark’s waist and slip his fingers underneath Mark’s shirt. He’d kiss Mark’s ear and his neck and every other part of Mark that he can see.

But Gary isn’t brave, and even if he did decide to do all of those things, he probably wouldn’t do it sat on a horse.

Whenever Gary tries to look at the ground, he feels dizzy and lightheaded. It seems incredibly high, like staring down at a city from a skyscraper. Combined with the fact that his trousers are beginning to get quite uncomfortable and tight at having Mark pressed up against him, he feels like he could fall off at any second.

He tries not to let it show. He puts on a brave face even though his heart running at a million miles an hour. ‘Where a-are w-we going?’

‘Not anywhere in particular,’ Mark says, turning his head to look into the distance. The farm stretches out as far as the eye can see. It’s an endless carpet of pasture and grass until it reaches the wooden fence beyond. Behind the fence, there are the hills, where Mark never dares venture. He’s often heard talk that strange creatures roam those hills, and he doesn’t know how Gary would feel if they rode that far. ‘I could take you to our house and back again. You’ll get a feel of what it’s like then. You might find out horse-riding is something you wanna do more often. I could teach you!’

Right now, the only remotely enjoyable thing about being sat on a horse is having Mark Owen between his thighs and feeling the heat coming off of him. However, Mark’s house isn’t that far away. Gary will survive the journey as long as he doesn’t fall off and he doesn’t think about Mark’s bum too much.

‘O-okay. S-sounds g-g-good.’

Mark spurs Julie into motion with a kick of his feet and a loud _hyah_ , and Gary instantly regrets his decision.

The horse is fast. So fast that Gary has no choice but to wrap his arms tightly around Mark’s waist and hold on for dear life. This only makes Gary more painstakingly aware of the heat coming off Mark’s body, and he has to suppress some very bad thoughts about Mark popping his cherry.

The pulsing sensation in his groin is the only indication that Gary’s actually enjoying the ride. Which he’s not. Riding a horse is by far the most dreadful thing in the world, bar none, and Gary’s had to do quite a few dreadful things in his life like attending Sports Day and watching _Star Wars_ with someone who thinks Luke Skywalker is an overrated character.

Being able to bury his face in Mark’s hair isn’t so bad, though. It’s actually quite nice. As is having an excuse to hold Mark tight.

But horses are still evil.

After what feels like an age, Mark finally returns Julie to the place where they started their journey, the stables. Gary had his eyes closed throughout the entire journey, so he doesn’t realise they’ve stopped until Mark clears his throat. He’s still got his arms wrapped around Mark’s waist.

‘You sure like holding me tightly, don’t ya?’ Mark jests, and Gary removes his hands as though he’s burnt them.

He doesn’t quite hear the disappointed gasp Mark lets out then.

‘S-sorry,’ Gary stammers. ‘I d-didn’t mean to . . . I was s-scared I’d fall off.’

‘But you didn’t,’ Mark says reassuringly, his head turned at an angle, and he gives Gary a sweet kiss on the mouth. ‘I’ll always catch you, Gaz. Always. Now, shall we get off? I’m dying to hear what you thought. We could do this more often!’

Mark gets off first, with that same enviable athleticism as before, and holds out his hand.

‘I won’t let you fall off now either, you know,’ Mark says when he sees Gary nervously eyeing up the distance between his hand and the ground below Julie’s hooves. It as high as if he were about to jump off a roof.

‘Promise?’

‘Promise.’

Gary takes a leap of fate and takes Mark’s hand. The moment his feet hit the ground, he’s hit with a surge of adrenaline. It’s like he’s stepped onto a big marshmallow. The world goes a bit topsy-turvy. His legs nearly give away, and he has to sit himself down in front of the stables, his breath coming in quick, dramatic pants.

‘Oh Jesus.’ Gary has to wipe his forehead. He lets out a big, theatrical exhale. ‘I just need to catch me breath for a moment there. You could have warned me there, Mark. I didn’t know horses were that quick. Jeez.’

Mark chuckles. He safely ties Julie to a fence post for the time being and sits himself down next to Gary. Behind them, there’s a wooden fence and a big pile of straw. ‘So you don’t really like riding horses, then.’

Gary shakes his head. That entire experience has left him trembling with adrenaline. It’s actually not dissimilar to the way Gary felt when Mark first kissed him. ‘Never again, mate. Never. I’m sorry.’

‘Why not?’ Mark doesn’t seem hurt – he’s just curious.

‘It’s the speed. It’s bloody relentless. I thought riding a horse would be relaxing.’

‘It _can_ be,’ Mark points out.

‘Yeah, no thanks, mate.’

Then Gary remembers how it felt to have his arms wrapped around Mark’s waist, the smell of Mark’s hair drifting all around him. Having Mark’s bum rubbing up against his groin was something else.

He still gets a little aroused just thinking about it. Mark’s always been the one to initiate kisses and cuddles, but feeling Mark’s back touch his body like that . . . it makes Gary want to touch Mark in ways he’s never done with a boy before.

‘That is, I did like riding with _you._ I like most things we do together. But I didn’t really enjoy the experience in general. The speed, that is. I didn’t enjoy the speed. I enjoyed holding you, though. That was nice.’ Gary flushes.

Mark’s lips curl into a flirtatious grin, and whatever was still left of Gary’s insides does a big summersault. Mark could tell that Gary loved the experience really; his hard-on was pretty hard to miss.

It’s obvious that Gary’s still a massive virgin, and Mark wouldn’t mind being his first time. Judging by the way Gary held him and kissed him earlier, Gary thought holding him was more than just “nice”. Gary _liked_ it.

It makes Mark want to kiss him again. Right here. Ordinarily, Mark wouldn’t be that keen on snogging someone in public, sat on the ground, surrounded by horses, but Gary Barlow is something else.

Gary makes Mark want to do terrible things. Gary is sweet. Gary is sexy. Gary’s a little nervous and obviously inexperienced, but he’s also more than that. So much more. When Gary wrapped his arms around Mark’s tummy earlier, his body pressed up against his back . . . at that moment, Mark wanted to discover the rest of Gary’s body more than anything. Mark wants to flirt with Gary until he goes bright red.

And he’s going to. Right now. Right here, with his horses as their witnesses.

‘I know you said you didn’t really find the whole experience very relaxing, but I have to ask, Gaz . . .’ Mark flashes Gary the sort of smile that makes the butterflies in your tummy get butterflies. ‘You don’t mind if _I_ still ride, do ya?’

Gary looks down then, and he suddenly finds Mark’s hand hovering above his thigh, his fingertips softly touching the material of his trousers, waiting to be given the okay. It sends all the blood rushing straight back to his groin, and Gary wishes he could find Mark’s cowboy hat so he could cover himself with it.

But on the other hand, it feels really good to have Mark’s fingers touching him there. So good. Better even than being kissed.

He might even say he deserves it after the journey Julie put him through.

Gary places his hand on Mark’s, and their mouths meet for a quick kiss, one involving tongues this time. Then Mark stops kissing him so he can speak. The words come out confidently; assured. Mark’s done this before.

‘Are you okay with me touching you here, Gaz?’

Gary doesn’t really understand why Mark would bother asking him for permission when being touched _there_ is quite easily the best thing since _The Empire Strikes Back_ , but he nods anyway.

‘Is that a yes, Gaz?’

‘Y-yes. Yeah.’ The words nearly topple out of Gary’s mouth.

Mark moves his hand higher. It feels good. He’s gone back to talking about horse-riding for some reason, which Gary finds absolutely baffling because why would you be talking about horses while you’re about to touch someone’s crotch?

‘I probably don’t have to tell you how much I like riding, Mr Barlow,’ Mark says nonsensically. Gary has absolutely no idea what Mark means, but it turns out Mark is pretty keen on showing him. One second they’re just sat next to each other in front of the stables, the sun shining down on them; the next, Gary has to stifle a moan when Mark cradles his lap and gently sits on top of him, like a cat.

Gary has never really done much other than kissing (with tongues), so he frankly doesn’t know whether he should find this arousing or not, but fuck it, he does.

This is . . . Jesus, this is easily the sexiest thing anyone’s ever done to him. Mark’s literally sat on his lap, kissing his mouth and slowly rocking back and forth against the tent in his trousers.

‘You like this, Gaz?’

Gary nods. Yes. Yes, he does. ‘Y-yeah,’ he stammers.

‘You want me to show ya how to ride properly?’

It takes Gary a couple of seconds to realise that Mark is talking about a sexual thing that involves people having sex, and he nods a couple of times nervously. He’s never had sex before, and he never imagined his first time would a) take place on a farm; b) involve someone offering to ride him, whatever that means; and c) take place in front of a bunch of murderous horses.

He’s pretty sure he’s just imagining this stuff.

‘Gaz.’ Mark’s voice cuts through Gary’s thoughts like a knife slicing through butter. He’s stopped what he was doing, and his face has become almost solemn, serious. ‘D’you want me to show you? I can also stop if you’re not enjoying it. We’re sort of about to do it outdoors . . .’

‘N-no. Don’t stop,’ Gary stammers, and he finds that he means it. He doesn’t want Mark to stop doing this, ever. He takes Mark’s hand and places it on his chest, where his heart is hammering so hard that it might as well jump out of his skin. ‘I’m enjoying it. Show me. Please.’

Before he knows it, Mark begins tugging at the back of Gary’s shirt. Gary finds himself raising his arms so that Mark can take it off of him. Next is Mark’s own shirt, revealing a ridiculously sexy chest that Gary wants to kiss all over for some reason. He always thought that people were exaggerating when they said they wanted to shower their lovers in kisses, but he gets it now. Looking at Mark’s tanned, skinny chest, he wants to do nothing but touch him there.

Then Gary’s back collides with a pillowy pile of straw, and the rest is a happy blur of kisses and touches, with Mark even going as far as putting his cowboy hat back on.

Mark’s so gentle to him, and slow, and even though it feels a bit weird at first, Gary thinks it’s easily the most delightful thing anyone’s ever done to him. He doesn’t even particularly mind doing it out in the open.

As far as first times go, Gary reckons it’s the best anyone’s ever had in the world, perhaps even in the universe.

If only those bloody horses would stop staring at him.  
  



End file.
